Say Cheese: Violife Vegan Cheese

I was really excited when I received my package from Sampler in the mail, which had Geovita rice and lentil blend (I haven't tried it yet!) and included a coupon for a new vegan cheese brand called Violife.

I'll admit, I'm not a huge "cheese" person anymore but sometimes when grocery shopping, I will pick up a small brick or two to satisfy the craving. Before the pandemic, if we ate out at a restaurant, I would order something with cheese, as it was more of a treat than a staple in the home. Let's also be frank, the bloated feeling after eating cheese at times is painful and uncomfortable, so I was hoping this wouldn't leave my stomach in knots.

The choices at the grocery store when I went to purchase Violife were pretty limited to either: cheddar shreds or cheddar slices, so I got:

Violife Vegan Cheddar Shreds

We had some hamburger buns left in the freezer, so I popped one into the oven and just did a wee sprinkling of the Vegan Cheddar Shreds on each bun. I also added some chives, as I just seem to love chives on everything!  Now I realize that there isn't a lot of cheese on here, but honestly, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this and I hate wasting food.  I am really used to dairy cheese, so I didn't want to smother it with this type and have to toss it entirely out if I couldn't eat the rest.  

Lunch time #samplerlove

Homemade broccoli soup! The cheese made such a nice addition, along with chives.

#samplerlove

Thankfully, it was delicious! I don't think you can really compare to regular cheese though as this is made with coconut oil, potato starch and corn starch. It also didn't melt as much as I had expected either but maybe I needed to leave it in the oven longer and use more cheese.

On the side, I wanted to get my greens in, so a simple salad of arugula with diced cucumbers, carrots and a honey mustard dressing. 

After looking at the website, I am curious to know what other styles taste like, especially the vegan cream cheese! Mmmm...  Am I going to replace cheese with these alternatives? Honestly, I don't really know. I just like having choices and I'm happy that I found a good brand like Violife to add to my shopping list. 

Pros:

✔Tastes great (no weird aftertaste like I have heard from other vegan cheese alternatives)

✔Excellent for people with multiple allergies/sensitivities

✔Good for the environment

✔Resealable bag

✔Easier on digestion (at least for me so far)

Cons: 

❌A bit expensive at almost $6 a bag for 227g. Have to keep my eyes open for sales!

Have you tried this vegan cheese? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or send me an email!

💜 Visit Violife's website: https://violifefoods.com/

💜 Join up with Sampler: https://sampler.io/

Spice It Up With Altius Spices & Seasonings Inc.

It all started when I finished my last batch of cinnamon. Usually I could just mosey to the grocery or bulk food store to buy it, but welcome to 2020, where even the most common used spices are out of stock! I love sprinkling cinnamon on oatmeal for breakfast, making pancakes, baking cookies and even a dash with a cup of tea. 

So after some sleuthing on the Internet, I found a Canadian company called Altius Spices & Seasonings Inc. They are a full service spice house and so whether you're a regular home-cook like me, part of the food service industry and buy in bulk or even want to take things a step further to create your own label with expertise from their in-house R&D team, check them out!

Here is an example of some of the spices from the Encore Gourmet section that we have used at home and love so far!  Note these are small sizes, but you have options to get larger bottles too!

There is a HUGE inventory to choose from, so you can mix and match your favourites and since they are reasonably priced, you can even go ahead and try out new spices to experiment with. 

They are also committed to food safety and you can read more about steps are taken to assure safe quality products: https://altiusspice.com/food-safety/

I am very excited to try more spices from Altius. I hope you'll give them a try for all your flavourful adventures!

High Quality Spices ✔

Budget-friendly ✔

Variety  ✔

Safety ✔

and a Canadian Company! ✔

💜

Shop directly online: https://altiusspice.com/shop/  (FREE shipping is available too!)

For tasty recipes, gift ideas and more, visit them on Facebook

Food Review: Heating Up The Kitchen With Club House Organic Spices!

I received complimentary packages of Club House's Organic Kung Pao and Taco Seasoning Mix from a great site that I belong to called Influenster.

These are the two packages I was sent in the mail.

I couldn't take the heat from the Kung Pao rice dish, so I enjoyed the tasty fries!

My honest thoughts: The packaging was okay, although I would love to have a re-sealable option so I don't need to transfer any leftover spice mix into another container for later use. The spice definitely packs a punch, so a little goes a long way for any recipe. I could smell it a mile away. lol The heat is very much present in each bite for the rice dish that I made but Bill found that despite the heat, it didn't have a lot of flavour. I wish there was less sodium in each package too because that is a bit of a deterrent. This won't be a staple spice product for our home, but it was good to try out.

The Taco mix though was really tasty! A lot of flavour and a great blend of spices. My baked fries turned out excellent. It had a bit of a zesty taste, but still tolerable. I would definitely make them again and we still have quite a bit left of the mix to enjoy!

So there you have it. These goodies that I got in the mail was a nice surprise and if you haven't already joined up, I would encourage you to check out Influenster (totally free to be a member!) so you can have an opportunity to test out all sorts of cool new products that launch.

Have you tried any of these organic spices out yet? If so, let me know your thoughts!

Flavour.ca  Influenster Canada #HelloFlavour #Complimentary

Spicing Up Your Life: A. Vogel Herbed Sea Salt Review

It’s always a bit of a panicked feeling when you realize that you’re pretty low on spices and yet in your head there are numerous dishes that you want to make. I received a complimentary bottle of A. Vogel Herbed Sea Salt from Social Nature, which came to the rescue today for lunch!  I will admit that i’m not usually a big fan of sea salt, but lately it’s been really growing on me.

The blend of organic spices (rosemary, thyme, basil, chives, etc...) mixed in is quite tasty. I added only a sprinkling to my veggie/hummus wrap and a little bit on the sweet potatoes, which was the perfect amount.  I can envision putting this in mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and all kinds of soups! I honestly don't think I would like this as much without the herbs.

My lunch - Mixed veggies with hummus on a tortilla wrap,
side salad with blueberries, roasted sweet potatoes and pickles!

The bottle design was a bit tricky to figure out with opening at the top, but I really like the sliding feature that allows you to put in the desired amount and then just gently slide back into place to seal and stay fresh.

Instead of having the salt shaker around, I think this Herbed Sea Salt by A. Vogel, has earned a place on the table.

A few extra bits of product information claims:

Free from artificial flavors, additives, and preservatives
Free of top 11 allergens
Certified Organic
Non-GMO Project Verified
MSG and Gluten-Free

#trynatural  #howdoyouherbamare #gotitfree

Happy Passover: Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Recipe!

Here is my first attempt at making Chicken Matzo Ball Soup!

It was not too difficult to make at all and looking at all the positive comments on my Facebook post, I think I did a pretty good job.

This was the recipe I used from one of my favourite recipe sites called Life Made Delicious.
Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

Note: I didn't use parsley/ginger, and I used olive oil, instead of vegetable oil. For the chicken broth, I used low-sodium. Also added in some herbs and garlic for additional flavour.

Superfood: Kale it up!

Kale is pretty popular right now and it's readily available in most grocery stores, so I bought a nice fresh bunch. After the kale chip experiment didn't work out, I thought that steaming kale was the right route to go. So I created a really healthy and simple meal that everyone enjoyed.

Steamed kale with a drizzle of olive oil
topped with mixed nuts and raisins
butter and Epicure seasoning (herb and garlic!) spread over 12 Grain bread and topped with tomatoes.

Bake the bread in the oven until crispy and then serve. :)

Cooking: Meaty Monday!

After winding down from the weekend, Monday always comes around too soon! Looking in my fridge, I realized that aside from the beef, I had a bunch of vegetables that needed some attention and a Tupperware container filled with beans. 

Healthy and easy meal for a Monday night that everyone will enjoy!

-Extra lean ground beef
-Veggies (baby carrots, green peppers, red onions)
-6 bean medley (thanks PC!) chickpeas, red/white kidney beans, black-eyed peas, romano beans, and baby lima beans)
-garlic, basil, oregano
-add whatever sauce you like
-serve with noodles